TMTOOOUGRREETISSHMUESRTTAOINWAABRLDES How HimmerLand works strategically with sustainability “Behaving responsibly is a license to operate - in more than one sense. Not only is it incorporated in our values. It is increasingly expected of us as well.” The words are Mette Ravn’s. She is the CEO of HimmerLand, the Lars Larsen Group-owned resort in the Northern part of Jutland. When she entered the company in 2021, working actively with sustainability, both in terms of envi- ronmental sustainability and social responsibility, quickly became an integrated part of the company strategy, “HimmerLand Together”. “Committing to sustainability on a strategic level ensures the right support from the organisation and provides the necessary focus and resources to push the sustainable agenda,” Mette continues. This strategic approach led to the recruitment of Linnea Scheelke, HimmerLand’s dedicated Sustainability Coordinator. In cooperation with different partners her daily work revolves around streamlining and driving sustainability across the many different aspects of the HimmerLand-business, such as the technical department, food & beverage, and housekeeping. “We have been working on establishing an overview of the initiatives that have already been implemented as well as the future steps we need to take in regard to sustainability,” Linnea says. “This is necessary to be able to tell the story about our efforts – both internally and externally. We need to cement a common understanding of HimmerLand as a company that is dedicated to sustainability, even though there is still much more we can do,” she explains. Unlocking sustainability Working with sustainability is not new to HimmerLand. A couple of years ago, the resort became Green Key®-certified. Green Key® is an international eco-label awarded to leisure organisations and to obtain it an organisation must meet several strict environmental requirements and provide a vast amount of documentation. Among other purposes, Green Key® helps poten- tial hotel guests make informed decisions when booking a stay and thereby helps to drive more sustainable tourism. “We were successful in achieving the certification in May of 2020, but the process indicated a need for a more structured approach towards other certifications and our work with sustainability in general,” Linnea says. ”Once you really get into the sustainability initiatives, it inspires and motivates you to dive deeper. Though Green Key® is a crucial certification for us as a holiday and conference destination, it is also very much an industry-label not very well known to the public. Now, we are therefore striving towards achieving the Nordic Eco-la- bel as well,” she adds. In close cooperation with Ecolabelling Denmark, Linnea and the rest of the team are focusing their efforts to bring HimmerLand at the forefront of sustainable tour- ism. HimmerLand will thus be one of the first companies to test the new applica- tion portal of Ecolabelling Denmark, which means documenting and describing an array of processes that are required to achieve the Nordic Eco-label certification. Commitment to the journey Certifications and labels, however, are only part of the journey for HimmerLand. Many other initiatives have been launched and planned to strengthen the re- sort’s position as a sustainable destination. To be able to make as much impact PAGE 62
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